# Humidor Dropped Humidity



## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

My two humidors have been keeping great humidity since I got them last summer. They have been staying between 70-80. Today I checked on them and they both had dropped to 59! I think it is because my gas heat in the house has dried the air out. 

I am hoping I can re-humidify all my sticks once I correct the humidity problem in the humidors. I think I might have to run a humidfied this winter in the room where they are kept.

Any comments or idea?


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## txdyna65 (Aug 21, 2006)

Skinsfan said:


> My two humidors have been keeping great humidity since I got them last summer. They have been staying between 70-80. Today I checked on them and they both had dropped to 59! I think it is because my gas heat in the house has dried the air out.
> 
> I am hoping I can re-humidify all my sticks once I correct the humidity problem in the humidors. I think I might have to run a humidfied this winter in the room where they are kept.
> 
> Any comments or idea?


buy some beads Billy


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## Habanolover (Feb 22, 2006)

Probably the heater. Winter is a %*^$% sometimes. If you use the beads you may want to up the percentage that are wet.


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## Puffin Fresh (Nov 1, 2006)

Probably also due to the fact that it's around -50 degrees in DC right now.


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## stogeyman (Nov 19, 2006)

I am having the same problem with a 100ct. humi. I can't get the humidity above 60%+/- and I am using 70% beads. I keep the temp low in the house and I have gas heat. The temp in my office averages 65 most of the time.


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## txdyna65 (Aug 21, 2006)

My cab was trying to do the same, I just added more beads and have been keeping them very wet. 

I had to give you a hard time though Billy :ss


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

I have been using this stuff and it worked fine all summer and fall but now that the gas heat is running all the time I think it cannot keep up with the dry air that the heat produces. Does anyone use a humidifier in their house during the winter months?


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## Jbailey (Nov 9, 2006)

Mine has been dropping too. I have a ton of foam but it won't stay up. I want to go with bead, but what should I do until I get some?


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

I am thinking of buying a room humidifier for the winter.


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## Dr. Stogie Fresh (Nov 18, 2005)

Put that humidor in a different part of your house, away from heating vents and next to a central wall. I will often move mine to a closet that is on a central wall and keep the closet door shut. This moderates both temperature and humidity swings.

Doc


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## icehog3 (Feb 20, 2005)

The beads should help Billy....my cabs went without a "recharge" for a few months this summer and fall, but recently have needed a little distilled water added every few days...just the RH drops so low in the house. I would recommend the beads before a room humidifier, something that has a more direct effect on your humidors.

Do I understand you right that you sometimes keep the humidity at 80%? Have you tested your hygrometers for accuracy? I would think that at 80% your cigars would smoke extremely "wet", and be at a risk for mold.


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

icehog3 said:


> The beads should help Billy....my cabs went without a "recharge" for a few months this summer and fall, but recently have needed a little distilled water added every few days...just the RH drops so low in the house. I would recommend the beads before a room humidifier, something that has a more direct effect on your humidors.
> 
> Do I understand you right that you sometimes keep the humidity at 80%? Have you tested your hygrometers for accuracy? I would think that at 80% your cigars would smoke extremely "wet", and be at a risk for mold.


I have seen the hygrometer between 70-80. I think 76 was the highest I have seen it but that was back in September. Over the past several months it was been in the high 60's but now it is down to 59. I hope I haven't ruined my sticks. I have about 300 sticks between the two humidors.


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## icehog3 (Feb 20, 2005)

Skinsfan said:


> I have seen the hygrometer between 70-80. I think 76 was the highest I have seen it but that was back in September. Over the past several months it was been in the high 60's but now it is down to 59. I hope I haven't ruined my sticks. I have about 300 sticks between the two humidors.


Billy, 59% for a short period won't ruin your sticks. I have a few ounces of the beads I can send you to hold you over if you need them.

I keep my sticks around 62-64% and they smoke and store perfectly.


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

icehog3 said:


> Billy, 59% for a short period won't ruin your sticks. I have a few ounces of the beads I can send you to hold you over if you need them.
> 
> I keep my sticks around 62-64% and they smoke and store perfectly.


Thanks Tom. I can get my hands on some beads here. I was just more worried about the sudden drop in humidity and if I need to do anything to save the sticks.

Sounds like they will be fine if I can get the humidity back up in the 60's


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## Even Steven (Dec 15, 2006)

How often do you open your humi? and for how long do you hold it open?
Have you checked or calibrated your hygrometer?
Did you try a humi leak test?


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

Even Steven said:


> How often do you open your humi? and for how long do you hold it open?
> Have you checked or calibrated your hygrometer?
> Did you try a humi leak test?


-Not very often and for not very long

-I have a digital hygrometer

-No


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## Even Steven (Dec 15, 2006)

Skinsfan said:


> -Not very often and for not very long
> 
> -I have a digital hygrometer
> 
> -No


Lol, cool, try and do a simple light test, turn of the all the house lights near the humi, turn on a flash light and place it in your humi, close your humi and see if you can see any light coming beaming through.

Then try and open up your humi, bring it down till it's like 1in from closing, then drop it, it should sound like it's landing on air first-then closes.

Try and do the salt test too while you're at it, I don't quite remember how to do it but search up "salt test" and you should find plenty of info on that.


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

Even Steven said:


> Lol, cool, try and do a simple light test, turn of the all the house lights near the humi, turn on a flash light and place it in your humi, close your humi and see if you can see any light coming beaming through.
> 
> Then try and open up your humi, bring it down till it's like 1in from closing, then drop it, it should sound like it's landing on air first-then closes.
> 
> Try and do the salt test too while you're at it, I don't quite remember how to do it but search up "salt test" and you should find plenty of info on that.


I can picture my wife walking in the room, while I have the lights turned off and I am trying to look into a little crack in my humidor with a flashlight. I can hear her now. Honey, wouldn't it be easier if you just opened it up and turned on the lights.


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## Even Steven (Dec 15, 2006)

Hahahah, don't you just love those cute respones?

They have no idea when it comes to the things we do! When we're on a mission, it's like surgens going in for brain surgery, we gotta go in a finish the job-no matter how stupid we look! hahahahaha


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## Sancho (Oct 13, 2006)

Im having a heck of a time keeping my desktops to stay up in RH, they both a leaking pretty bad due to the low room humidity. I've been forced to wet the seal down almost every other day to allow the humidity to get up into the 60's while in the summer it was steady at 68 all the time. Of course my cooler holds a perfect 70 no matter what.


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## OP8 (Sep 26, 2006)

I use a room humidifier in the winter due to the effects of dry air on our bodies(and bloody boogies @ night:s from a dry nose). This tends to help with keeping my humi stable. My humidifier is small, but running it at night and a few hours during the day keeps the whole house around 60% RH.


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## LeafHog (Feb 11, 2004)

Skinsfan said:


> My two humidors have been keeping great humidity since I got them last summer. They have been staying between 70-80. Today I checked on them and they both had dropped to 59! I think it is because my gas heat in the house has dried the air out.


It's because they are trying to save your poor cigars! 59% isn't going to hurt a damn thing. I keep a humidor (dry-box) at 60% and that's where I put the cigars I'll be smoking over the next few days. You're cigars are fine, and better off at 60% than at 80% 

What temp? At normal household temperature and 75% you are at extreme risk for mold. That ain't plume boy! I know of only one FOG (and he is a jedi master 5-star general of storage) that keeps his humi above 70% and he keeps his temp down and watches things very closely. I keep my coolers at around 65% and am more concerned with an INCREASE in humidity rather than a DECREASE.

Long story short, your cigars are fine and more than likely better off. Buy some beads, and follow the advice others have given in this thread.

If I were you I'd let those cigars rest at 60% for awhile, then smoke a few and see if you can taste and feel a difference. You might just like it!


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## KASR (Aug 2, 2006)

Skinsfan said:


> I can picture my wife walking in the room, while I have the lights turned off and I am trying to look into a little crack in my humidor with a flashlight. I can hear her now. Honey, wouldn't it be easier if you just opened it up and turned on the lights.


I was thinking that she'd throw her shoe at you for playing doctor lights off and behind cosed doors with your humi! LOL! No moonlighting!


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## Little Giant (Jan 7, 2007)

Here in Tucson, AZ. where I live is not known for its high humidity. I have two Diamond Crown humidors that I ordered from the Bonita Smoke shop and they hold humidity, summer and winter and I don't have an indoor hunidifyer. If the indoor humidity gets up to 30% we start looking for rain. You might give the Bonita smoke shop a look see.:2


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

Well I am feeling better about my sticks now. The temp in the house is usually pretty chilly. I like it hot and she likes it cold and she usually wins and I put on socks and a blanket.



LeafHog said:


> It's because they are trying to save your poor cigars! 59% isn't going to hurt a damn thing. I keep a humidor (dry-box) at 60% and that's where I put the cigars I'll be smoking over the next few days. You're cigars are fine, and better off at 60% than at 80%
> 
> What temp? At normal household temperature and 75% you are at extreme risk for mold. That ain't plume boy! I know of only one FOG (and he is a jedi master 5-star general of storage) that keeps his humi above 70% and he keeps his temp down and watches things very closely. I keep my coolers at around 65% and am more concerned with an INCREASE in humidity rather than a DECREASE.
> 
> ...


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

KASR said:


> I was thinking that she'd throw her shoe at you for playing doctor lights off and behind cosed doors with your humi! LOL! No moonlighting!


She already thinks I am weird enough as it is.


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## piperman (Sep 8, 2005)

Skinsfan said:


> I am thinking of buying a room humidifier for the winter.


I have been thinking the same, here in AZ we have swamp coolers for the summer which brings up the humidity but winter it is work to keep it steady.


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## bhudson57 (Oct 4, 2006)

I use room humidifiers in the winter. If it gets real cold or dry I'll get a big pot of water and put it on the stove and let it simmer. Occasionally, I'll let the shower run on full hot just to steam up the place. 

I have severe sinus problems and the dryness irritates them to the point of giving me headaches. Of course over humidity causes the same problem, but that is never a problem in the winter.

Raising the room humidity will certainly help, when you open the humidor, the air that rushes in isn't as dry.


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## DudeGroovin (Oct 16, 2006)

I've had the same problem with a small desktop humidor. Turns out the dry ambient air is drying out the exposed part of the Spanish cedar liner that forms the seal with the lid. The wood shrinks and stops sealing properly. Then the internal humidity plummets. 

The solution for me is to occasionally "paint" some distilled water on the part of the cedar liner that is proud of the body of the humidor. It swells back up and starts making a good seal with the lid again. Problem solved.

Dude


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## Big D (Mar 10, 2006)

Skinsfan said:


> I am thinking of buying a room humidifier for the winter.


This is what I did last winter, here in S.W. Indiana it gets really dry during the winter months. I just got a room humidifer from Wally World.
My humi's run at 65%(with beads), but in the winter time they go down to about 60%. Humidifer did the trick.


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## Bubba -NJ (Dec 6, 2005)

I was in your same situation last year around this time , cold and dry weather . I bought some beads , dbl what was recommended for my humidor and haven't had a problem since . I have beads in all my storgae humidors now . They are the most trouble free and steady humidifier that I've used .


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## Da Klugs (Jan 8, 2005)

Cabs are all different. Some have great seals. Some wood lined with fairly thick cedar. I have always had to change practices to an extent in the storage devices (except coolers) I have during the winter.

Office stays at around 45-50% RH in the summer. Drops to 35% or so in the winter. Chews the distilled. Crank the COII's up and need to recharge the beads much more frequently. Have a couple of cups full distilled with paper towels in the main cab now to keep the humidity up in the 60's. I hate winter. Put a standalone humidifier in the office and Sam replaced the hudifying element on the furnace today. Office was in the 23% range and I was burning a gallon a day of distilled.


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

Couple more months of this and we will be back to spring time weather.


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## Sancho (Oct 13, 2006)

Da Klugs said:


> ...Have a couple of cups full distilled with paper towels in the main cab now to keep the humidity up in the 60's. I hate winter.


Interesting Idea, are you saying you have cups full of water with paper towels in them or wetted paper towels? I think Im going to give the later a try in my humi right now... Thanks Klugs!


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## bigman (Aug 4, 2006)

Ok, if your house has floor vents for the furnace, and you don’t mind looking like a bit of a red neck, or old lady, what you do is go to the store and buy about two or three of the jumbo industrial sized cans of green beans, and a pound or two of bacon, two large onions and some potatoes, go home get out the biggest pot (the cooking type, kettle if you will) you have, cut the bacon into I inch pieces, throw it in with the onions (diced), when it’s browned or caramelized, open the beans throw away the lids, dump the beans in with the bacon and onions, add the potatoes (quartered) and add a bit of water, and let simmer for a couple of hours till the potatoes are tender. Wile you are waiting for the beans to cook, remove the labels from the cans rinse them out (wash them if you like), fill them with water, and place the cans on the register vents in your office (or where ever your humidors are), your bedroom, and any other room that you don’t mind having a can on the register. Now when the beans are done, put them away in the frig, and call your friends and have them arrange to come over tomorrow for dinner, about two hours before they get there put the beans back on the stove, and simmer them, wile they are simmering check/fill the cans of water. The cans on the register will add humidity to the air, as will cooking the beans. Or, you could just save some old coffee cans and use them on the registers, and do the same thing. :ss


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## Rploaded (Nov 7, 2006)

Im running 4 CO II's in my big cabinet and I have noticed zero change, indoor rh is around 22%. Gas heat is tough on the humidity. You may want to try an active humidifier as it will be able to react much faster then beads or credo especially this time of year.

Cabinet is at 68 degrees and 72% RH using 1 gallon a week. I usually only use 1/2 gallon per week so the lower indoor rh is getting me here.


Ryan.


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## Skinsfan (Aug 4, 2006)

This should be in the Cigar FAQ



bigman said:


> Ok, if your house has floor vents for the furnace, and you don't mind looking like a bit of a red neck, or old lady, what you do is go to the store and buy about two or three of the jumbo industrial sized cans of green beans, and a pound or two of bacon, two large onions and some potatoes, go home get out the biggest pot (the cooking type, kettle if you will) you have, cut the bacon into I inch pieces, throw it in with the onions (diced), when it's browned or caramelized, open the beans throw away the lids, dump the beans in with the bacon and onions, add the potatoes (quartered) and add a bit of water, and let simmer for a couple of hours till the potatoes are tender. Wile you are waiting for the beans to cook, remove the labels from the cans rinse them out (wash them if you like), fill them with water, and place the cans on the register vents in your office (or where ever your humidors are), your bedroom, and any other room that you don't mind having a can on the register. Now when the beans are done, put them away in the frig, and call your friends and have them arrange to come over tomorrow for dinner, about two hours before they get there put the beans back on the stove, and simmer them, wile they are simmering check/fill the cans of water. The cans on the register will add humidity to the air, as will cooking the beans. Or, you could just save some old coffee cans and use them on the registers, and do the same thing. :ss


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## icehog3 (Feb 20, 2005)

Skinsfan said:


> This should be in the Cigar FAQ


I want some of whatever he was smoking.... :r


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## sonick (Jan 30, 2007)

(pardon if this is already posted)

If you haven't already, (and your humi is lined with cedar), you may want to wipe down the interior surfaces of the humi with distilled water. Wipe so no standing water is left, then place a wet sponge somewhere in the humi where it won't touch the cigars. If the sponge is dry after 24 hours, repeat process until sponge stays at least damp. This will keep the beads from having to do extra work. 

Further, I have found that keeping humidors at a constant humidity is near impossible in the winter, or in arid climates. In Arizona where I live, ANY sort of wood humidor simply will NOT hold humidity, and a coolidor or somesuch synthetic which is far less porous and with a tighter seal must be used. I have tried everythign in my power to use a wooden humidor and it simply is overpowered by the arizona air even FILLED with beads. Without an active sensing/advanced humidification system, the only way I can practically protect my investment in the Arizona climate is to use a coolidor. Again, the far less porosity/permeability of the food-grade plastics, along with a tight seal, is the only way pucks/beads etc. are feasible where I live, to provide a consistent 65-68 %.


Another thing you could try is to improve the seal on the mating surfaces of your humidor lid, and plug any unused gaps/holes that may be present......


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## piperman (Sep 8, 2005)

Skinsfan said:


> Couple more months of this and we will be back to spring time weather.


A couple more months, that is when all my troubles begin. Damn Az


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## Dr_Wogz (Aug 25, 2006)

My turn!

I'm in Montreal, and it's been bitterly cold. Same as most of you, trying to keep they humi at a comfy 65%. This is smy first winter, so I'm learnign as most of you are too.

For a while, it's been down to & hovering at about 55% - 59%.

I seem to be repleneshing the beads about once a week. And, i've recently added a jar of that jelly stuff to help 'up' the RH levels. Also am wetting the inside periodically.


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## discdog (Jun 23, 2006)

Check the humidity of the room your humidor is kept in. In most cases, you'll find it to be in the 20 -30% range. Now imagine that the only source of moisture is a small wooden box sitting in the room. Everything in the room will be trying to suck the moisture out of the box. And will. Try a room humidifier and keep it up around the 50% range, you'll have a lot less headaches and your cigars will be easier to maintain. I have solid wood furniture throughout the house and in the winter the joints would become very visible. Now with the humidifier running, no more problem.


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## stogie_kanobie_one (Feb 9, 2006)

piperman said:


> A couple more months, that is when all my troubles begin. Damn Az


:tpd: I'm with ya on that. We'll be trading dryness but cool temps for good wetness but high temps. We just can't win ...


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## donp (Mar 5, 2006)

I have noticed my 70% beads have been drying out a lot faster recently. and the RH in my humidors have been fluctuating between 63 and 70%. I realize it is due to the weather and the heat my gas furnace is putting out. It means I have to be more vigilant and check on my humis at least once a week.


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